Related papers: The Galaxy in Context: Structural, Kinematic and I…
The shapes of galaxies are not randomly oriented on the sky. During the galaxy formation and evolution process, environment has a strong influence, as tidal gravitational fields in the large-scale structure tend to align nearby galaxies.…
In the Milky Way, the thick disk can be defined using individual stellar abundances, kinematics, or age; or geometrically, as stars high above the mid-plane. In nearby galaxies, where only a geometric definition can be used, thick disks…
I present a comprehensive review of the evolution of galaxy structure in the universe from the first galaxies we can currently observe at z~6 down to galaxies we see in the local universe. I further address how these changes reveal galaxy…
A galactic disk in a spiral galaxy is generally believed to be embedded in an extended dark matter halo, which dominates its dynamics in the outer parts. However, the shape of the halo is not clearly understood. Here we show that the dark…
The ubiquitous presence of dark matter in the universe is today a central tenet in modern cosmology and astrophysics. Ranging from the smallest galaxies to the observable universe, the evidence for dark matter is compelling in dwarfs,…
We use high-resolution simulations to show that the current standard paradigm for the growth of structure in the Universe predicts the formation of a galaxy like our own to differ substantially from the classic ELS and Searle/Zinn pictures.…
Accurate measurement of galaxy structures is a prerequisite for quantitative investigation of galaxy properties or evolution. Yet, the impact of galaxy inclination and dust on commonly used metrics of galaxy structure is poorly quantified.…
The assembly of stellar-dominated cores in elliptical galaxies is key to understanding how cosmic structures evolved. Gravitational lensing offers unique insights into the nature of their stars. We report the discovery of the smallest known…
Galaxies are thought to grow through accretion; as less massive galaxies are disrupted and merge over time, their debris results in diffuse, clumpy stellar halos enveloping the central galaxy. Here we present a study of the variation in the…
The galactic neighborhood, extending from the Milky Way to redshifts of about 0.1, is our unique local laboratory for detailed study of galaxies and their interplay with the environment. Such study provides a foundation of knowledge for…
The separation of the Milky Way disk into a thin and thick component is supported by differences in the spatial, kinematic and metallicity distributions of their stars. These differences have led to the view that the thick disk formed early…
How elliptical galaxy dynamics relate to galaxy structure, stellar populations, spiral galaxies and environment are reviewed. The evidence assembled shows that most, if not all, galaxies originally classified as gE contain disks within…
We investigate the inner regions of the Milky Way with a sample of unprecedented size and coverage thanks to APOGEE DR16 and Gaia EDR3 data. Our inner Galactic sample has more than 26,000 stars within $|X_{\rm Gal}| <5$ kpc, $|Y_{\rm Gal}|…
The full spatio-chemo-dynamical structure of galaxies of all types and environments at low redshift provides a critical accompaniment to observations of galaxy formation at high redshift. The next decade brings the observational opportunity…
It remains a mystery when our Milky Way first formed a stellar disk component that survived and maintained its disk structure from subsequent galaxy mergers. We present a study of the age-dependent structure and star formation rate of the…
From the archaeological point of view, the local dwarf galaxies are unique objects in which the imprint of the conditions that shaped the early structure formation can be studied today at high resolution. Over the last decade, this new…
We analyse a set of very metal-poor stars for which accurate chemical abundances have been obtained as part of the ESO Large Program "First stars" in the light of the Gaia DR2 data. The kinematics and orbital properties of the stars in the…
We analyse the chemical properties of a set of solar vicinity stars, and show that the small dispersion in abundances of \alpha-elements at all ages provides evidence that the SFH has been uniform throughout the thick disk. In the context…
The stellar halo of the Milky Way records the history of its interactions with dwarf galaxies, whose subsequent destruction results in the formation of an extended stellar component. Recent works have suggested that galaxies with masses…
We construct a model for the Milky Way Galaxy composed of a stellar disc and bulge embedded in a dark-matter halo. All components are modelled as $N$-body systems with up to 8 billion equal-mass particles and integrated up to an age of…